Buses in Kidbrooke (1)

Len Duvall: I am still receiving complaints from residents getting on the 132 along the Rochester Way towards North Greenwich being unable to board during the morning rush hour, and from North Greenwich towards the Rochester Way in the evening rush hour. There are also issues of overcrowding at bus stop D at North Greenwich during evening rush hour. Will you look to increase capacity during peak times for the 132 bus?

The Mayor: New route 335, which was introduced on 26 October 2019, will provide an alternative for customers who use route 132. Routes 132 and 335 both serve North Greenwich and the Kidbrooke area, so the additional capacity for customers travelling between these two destinations should mean demand is spread between the two routes. TfL publicised the new route 335 using several methods, including local press releases, customer emails and targeted local advertising. Customer information was also updated at bus stops and online.
TfL also undertook a capacity review on route 132 in mid-November and is considering whether the results show additional capacity is required.

Buses in Kidbrooke (2)

Len Duvall: A constituent has asked why the new 335 bus has been located at bus stop B at North Greenwich instead of bus stop D, given that the 335 bus was promised to alleviate overcrowding on the 132?

The Mayor: The Abs Tracked Solutions audit conclusion on Tram Operations Ltd’s (TOL’s) safety management system was not “adequate”. The sentence in IA 13 774 section 4.0 on Audit Arrangements states as follows: “The audit report for March 2014 was evidenced and found to be adequate.” This refers to the judgement of TfL Internal Audit that the report was adequate to fulfil the requirement for effective audit arrangements.
There is no conflicting statement as the “well controlled” finding was on the basis that TOL had actively sought assurance that their management system was effective and they were taking action to address identified weaknesses.

Cleaning up London’s Buses

Leonie Cooper: Given the success of your Low Emission Bus Zones, will you be accelerating actions to clean up all London’s buses?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) accelerated the introduction of my Low Emission Bus Zones by a full year so that these polluted bus corridors could become healthier streets at the earliest opportunity. It will also complete a fleet-wide upgrade programme next year to bring the whole of London up to the same Euro VI standard in October 2020. As the latest ultra-clean diesel buses reduce the most harmful pollutants by up to 80 per cent, this is bringing very rapid improvements to air quality across London.
TfL’s work to make the bus fleet zero emission continues, with more than 210 vehicles at this level now and at least another 60 to join the fleet by the middle of next year. TfL is developing an electrification plan for London to achieve a zero-tailpipe emission fleet as quickly as possible.

London Ambulance Service, Met Police and London Fire Brigade

Andrew Boff: What percentage and number of each category of the London Ambulance Service, Met Police and London Fire Brigade fleet is currently non-compliant with the ULEZ?

The Mayor: London’s emergency services are showing leadership in cleaning up their fleets and are determined to take bold steps towards becoming cleaner and greener.
In line with Government guidance, unlike for most fleets, it is not always possible to predict where and when emergency vehicles will be required. TfL has worked with each service on a specific memorandum of understanding that outlines how they intend to comply with the ULEZ and targets relating to the transition to an electric fleet. These are available online at https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/ultra-low-emission-zone. All support car fleets will be zero emission capable by 2025.
1. London Ambulance Service (as of July 2019)
Category
Compliant
Non Compliant
LAS Fleet
428 (47%)
490 (53%)
2. London Fire Brigade (as of July 2019)
Category
Compliant
Non Compliant
Cars
61(100%)
0
Vans
63 (97%)
2 (3%)
Note: these vehicles do not enter the ULEZ
Pumping appliances
138 (66.7%)
69 (33.3%)
Aerials
0
19 (100%)
Fire Rescue Units
0
18 (100%)
Command Units
0
9 (100%)
Front Line Specials
0
38 (100%)
National Resilience (Home Office)
0
27(100%)
Total
244 (55%)
197 (45%)
3. Metropolitan Police Service
The entire fleet is on track to be compliant before October 2023
Category
Compliant
Non Compliant
Emergency response vehicle
2431 (71%)
974 (29%)
Note: exempt from ULEZ charge
Protection
217 (85%)
37 (15%)
Note: exempt from ULEZ charge
Non response specialist
221 (50%)
224 (50%)
Note: exempt from ULEZ charge
General Purpose
777 (98%)
18 (0%)
Note: a daily fee is paid
Total
3646 (74%)
1253 (26%)

Taxi and Private Hire Trade (6)

David Kurten: How much money have TfL Pension Funds invested in fossil fuel companies?

The Mayor: As at March 2019, the value of TfL Pension Fund’s active fossil fuel extractive investments is £18.9 million, accounting for 0.17 per centof the total Fund value.

CS9 (1)

Tony Devenish: Do you accept that if CS9 goes ahead it will mean, according to TfL’s own figures, worse air quality and higher NO2 concentration in many side roads along its route?

The Mayor: Schemes such as Cycleway 9 are essential for delivering my Transport Strategy, where I aim to achieve an 80 per cent shift in travel to active and more sustainable modes of transport by introducing new and improved facilities to support walking and cycling.
My Transport Strategy is vital to addressing significant public health issues in London, including air pollution, road danger, and critically low levels of physical activity. These challenges cannot be addressed without a shift away from private, motorised vehicles and towards walking, cycling and public transport. Given that around half of London’s air pollution comes from road transport, there is no way to make the massive improvements needed to London’s air quality without reducing the use of polluting vehicles.
Transport for London’s (TfL’s) proposals for Cycleway 9 would change how traffic moves around the area, which may result in some associated and localised changes to air quality and noise levels. TfL has undertaken independently-assessed environmental evaluations of the impacts of Cycleway 9, including Air Quality and Noise Assessments.
Air quality impacts at the majority of modelled receptors will be negligible, but there are predicted beneficial and adverse effects at a small number of receptor locations. However, the air quality modelling for this scheme did not include the emissions reductions expected from the expansion of the ULEZ in 2021. If you take this into account, then it is likely that the levels of pollution should be lower than reported in the Air Quality and Noise Assessments for this cycle scheme.

Charging Motorcycles in London

Keith Prince: What is the context for the evidence that results in London being the only city in the UK that sees a justification for charging motorcycles via the ULEZ?

The Mayor: The scale of the air pollution crisis in London means that bold action is being taken against all vehicles producing harmful exhaust emissions. I have been clear that everyone must play their part. Although motorcycles may contribute to a relatively small proportion of London’s total emissions, they can be highly polluting on an individual basis. This is why motorcycles are included in the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Any motorcycle registered with the DVLA since Euro 3 became mandatory in July 2007 is assumed to be ULEZ compliant and does not require testing. Transport for London’s monitoring indicates that 97 per cent of ‘L’ type vehicles (most of which are motorcycles) entering the ULEZ are compliant. Despite the lack of Government support, I have ensured low income and disabled Londoners can receive £1,000 if they scrap an older, more polluting motorcycle or mopeds as part of a £48 million scrappage fund.

Santander bikes

Tony Devenish: For each of the years Nov 16 to Oct 17, Nov 17 to Oct 18 and Nov 18 to Oct 19, please can you provide how many journeys on Santander bikes have been completed?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) accelerated the introduction of my Low Emission Bus Zones by a full year so that these polluted bus corridors could become healthier streets at the earliest opportunity. It will also complete a fleet-wide upgrade programme next year to bring the whole of London up to the same Euro VI standard in October 2020. As the latest ultra-clean diesel buses reduce the most harmful pollutants by up to 80 per cent, this is bringing very rapid improvements to air quality across London.
TfL’s work to make the bus fleet zero emission continues, with more than 210 vehicles at this level now and at least another 60 to join the fleet by the middle of next year. TfL is developing an electrification plan for London to achieve a zero-tailpipe emission fleet as quickly as possible.

ULEZ support scrappage scheme (1)

Leonie Cooper: What progress has been made launching the scrappage scheme for low-income families?

The Mayor: The £25 million ULEZ car and motorcycle scrappage scheme was launched to coincide with the International Air Quality Summit on 23October 2019. It is now available to help eligible low-income and disabled Londoners scrap older, more polluting vehicles. For further details, please see:tfl.gov.uk/car-motorcycle-scrappage.
For years, the Government has incentivised and encouraged people to purchase diesel cars. If we are going to tackle the health crisis and social injustice caused by air pollution, it is vital that the incoming Government helps people switch to clean alternatives and funds a national vehicle scrappage scheme.

CS9 (3)

Tony Devenish: Do you recognise that if CS9 goes ahead in its current form it will mean “increases of 1 μg/m3 or lower at receptors to the north east of the scheme in the boroughs of Hammersmith and Kensington and Chelsea, such as R14 (Blythe Road), R32 (Holland Road), R33 (Airdale Avenue), R51 (Goldhawk Road) and R57 (Hammersmith Road).”? Do you think these increases would be acceptable?

The Mayor: As outlined in my response to Mayor's Question 2019/14427, schemes such as Cycleway 9 are essential for delivering my strategy to achieve an 80% modal shift in travel by introducing new and improved facilities for people walking and cycling, helping to encourage people to use active and more sustainable modes of transport. This is vital to addressing the significant public health challenges facing London, including air pollution across the city, as well as road danger and critically low levels of physical activity.
As outlined in my response to Mayor's Question2019/14427, Transport for London (TfL) has undertaken independently assessed environmental evaluations of the potential impacts of Cycleway 9, including Air Quality and Noise Assessments. Air quality impacts at the majority of modelled receptors are predicted to be negligible, but there are predicted beneficial and adverse effects at a small number of receptor locations. According to this assessment, the changes in NO2 concentrations at each of the mentioned receptors would be small resulting in slight adverse impacts. However the overall impact of these receptors would not be considered significant as the assessment concludes these as delivering us into legal limits for the annual mean NO2 air quality.
As stated in my response to Mayor's Question 2019/14427, the air quality modelling for this scheme did not include the expected emissions reductions that we project to result from the expansion of the ULEZ in 2021. As a result the likely levels of pollution should be lower than modelled in the Air Quality and Noise Assessment for this entire scheme.

Travel assistance in London

Caroline Russell: A constituent has raised concerns with me about a recent difficult journey. They suffered delays due to an out-of-order lift, poor understanding of train/platform gaps at a station and miscommunication between staff at different stations, which made for an exhausting and extended late-night trip. Journeys for people who need step-free access often depend on a combination of Transport for London (TfL) and National Rail services. What are you doing to ensure there is full cooperation and understanding between staff at all London stations so that disabled passengers can rely on assistance across the transport network?

The Mayor: I am sorry to hear of your constituent’s experience.
Transport for London (TfL) and I are fully committed to making the transport network as accessible as possible. There is a huge amount of work underway to improve accessibility in London, but much left to do. There are now more than 200 step-free stations across the TfL network and we remain committed to increasing this number where and when possible.
To ensure train station staff can provide assistance, train and station operators must have an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP). Under this, operators must provide information that is “accessible, accurate, relevant, consistent, up-to-date and easy to understand” for customers. The Policy aims to provide passengers with confidence in travelling, particularly where the journey involves a change of train or transfer to another mode of transport. I am sorry that in this situation this does not seemed to have helped your constituent.
TfL is also developing an ATP for use at stations that have interchange with other train operating companies There will be 30 stations on the London Underground network where, if assistance is pre-booked, customers are guaranteed assistance from each train operating company. London Underground will continue to offer a turn up and go service but this should improve connections with other services.

Fatigue Audit IA 13744 (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: This report concluded with a ‘well controlled’ finding, despite the AbsTracked Solutions finding that Tram Operations Limited safety management was only ‘adequate’. Please explain the conflicting statements?

The Mayor: The Abs Tracked Solutions audit conclusion on Tram Operations Ltd’s (TOL’s) safety management system was not “adequate”. The sentence in IA 13 774 section 4.0 on Audit Arrangements states as follows: “The audit report for March 2014 was evidenced and found to be adequate.” This refers to the judgement of TfL Internal Audit that the report was adequate to fulfil the requirement for effective audit arrangements.
There is no conflicting statement as the “well controlled” finding was on the basis that TOL had actively sought assurance that their management system was effective and they were taking action to address identified weaknesses.